Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2025 i National Geographic Traveller Food

Austin Bush In Marseille, I particularly enjoyed witnessing the enthusiasm and pride of the next generation of the city’s North African cooks as they shared the cuisine of their parents and grandparents. It was also a special moment when I finally got to taste high-quality harissa, having previously only tried the stuff that comes in a tube. MARSEILLE, P. 46 Mallika Basu Writing about kedgeree was a joy because its origins lie in khichdi, a soothing South Asian dish that’s a firm favourite in my family. Kedgeree’s story is one of cultural appreciation, from the early days of the British colonists in India; it was fascinating to piece its history together. DECONSTRUCT, P. 38 Chawadee Nualkhair Generations of Thai chefs have found uses for every part of the coriander plant,…

Buttermilk is a wonderful and versatile ingredient. It’s often associated with indulgences: buttermilk fried chicken, buttermilk pancakes and, my personal favourite, which I miss dearly from my time in the US: buttermilk biscuits. It can be used raw or cooked, as a marinade or dressing, in food and even in drinks. It’s common in the US, but is often overlooked in the UK. It’s originally a byproduct of making butter; when you over-whip cream to produce butter, you’re left with a milky liquid, which, if left out overnight to ferment, will become buttermilk. Rather like yoghurt, it has a slight acidity, which is great for adding tang to waffles and biscuits; it gives them a lighter texture, too. Buttermilk also helps to tenderise meat: once you see the results from…

The veggie options at Gunpowder in Spitalfields are brilliant. It has a small menu, which I learned from Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is a good thing. The paneer, okra fries and potato dumplings are great. There are two tiers of places to go for Indian food: one for when you’re hungover, although I don’t drink anymore, with the naans and poppadoms, and those doing something special, like Dishoom and Kricket — Gunpowder is an incredible version of that. I’d love to visit India; eating there would be on another level. I accidentally ate meat in Rio de Janeiro. It was the last night of the 2016 Paralympic Games, and Alex [Brooker, broadcaster] and I were so drunk. It was a Subway, and I assumed it was some sort of veggie patty…

Being so uniquely Louisianan, the world-class dishes created in this Southern state are nearly impossible to define simply as American. The cuisine here reflects a varied tapestry of cultures, with the influence of France, Spain, West Africa, the Caribbean, Germany, Italy and Native Americans woven into its distinct recipes. In the west, you have Cajun country, an area populated by Acadians originally from French-speaking Canada. In the north, Southern-style home cooking is the order of the day. Then, there’s the Creole influence in the lively city of New Orleans. Wherever you head, many dishes are dominated by a slow-cooked roux and the ‘holy trinity’, a mixture of onions, peppers and celery — Louisiana’s answer to the mirepoix (a base of diced vegetables). Discover this and much more of the Bayou…

TAKES: 1 HR INGREDIENTS 115g unsalted butter2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed1 bunch each sage and thyme4 x 1.5-inch-thick sirloin steaks (around 1.8kg), room temperaturemicrogreens, to serve FOR THE ONION JAM 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil3 medium white onions50g sugar2 garlic cloves, smashed80ml balsamic vinegar1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves FOR THE CAULIFLOWER MASH 1 large cauliflower, broken into pieces15g butter2 tbsp cream4 cloves garlic, crushed60g cheddar cheese METHOD 1 Melt the butter in a pan with the garlic cloves. Set aside for 1 hr. 2 For the onion jam, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sugar and cook for 30-50 mins until the onions are deeply caramelised. Add the garlic, vinegar, thyme and 60ml water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 mins until…

How would you define the cuisine of Eastern Europe? The tradition of sharing food around the table with multiple generations and passing on stories through recipes is at the heart of Eastern European cuisine. There’s also a sense of diversity across cultural and ethnic groups. In terms of specific dishes, techniques and ingredients, fermentation spans the region. Pies are a simple way of making the most of a few ingredients. And there will always be some form of dumpling. Sour cream is used for stirring into sauces or soups and for dipping dumplings, fritters or pancakes. In summer, there’s an abundance of herbs — dill, parsley, coriander — and lots of simple but fragrant spices like caraway, fennel seeds and black pepper. How did your upbringing shape your relationship with…

SERVES: 4 TAKES: 25 MINS INGREDIENTS vegetable oil, for frying1 large onion, thinly sliced4 medium-large potatoes (approximately 600g), peeled and diced1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed250-350ml vegetable or chicken stock2 bay leaves2-3 allspice berries70g butter2-4 tbsp salted butter2-4 tbsp poppy seeds METHOD Heat the oil in a large, deep casserole dish or a large saucepan and fry the onion over a medium heat with a pinch of salt for around 8 mins, or until it turns soft and translucent. Add the potatoes and beans and pour in enough stock to just cover the potatoes. Add in the bay leaves and allspice berries and cook for around 10-15 mins until the potatoes are tender. Take off the heat and discard the berries and bay leaves. Add the butter…

ISSUE 27, SPRING 2025 Along with salt, spices and garlic, herbs are what I — and many others — would consider to be a cookery essential. They add depth and freshness to practically any dish, and wherever you go in the world, you’ll find at least one herb that’s a crucial ingredient in the local cuisine. This is certainly the case in Thailand, where the whole coriander plant, from root to leaf, is used to flavour everything: curries, soups, salads, you name it. So much so that Bangkok chef Dylan Eitharong says it’s simply “not possible” to make Thai food without the herb. In Jamaica, meanwhile, thyme lends its distinctive but mellow flavour to various foods, but most famously it’s crucial to jerk marinade. And in Sweden, dill can be…

Turk’s opening was something of a homecoming for Fatih Tutak. After a stint cooking in Bangkok, the chef returned to Turkey in 2019, embarking on a fresh discovery of his country and its cuisine, before launching his own restaurant in Istanbul. It became Turkey’s first and only two-Michelinstar establishment, showcasing the breadth and depth of Turkish cuisine, interpreted through a modern lens. “I had to find my own way of expressing myself and my home country’s food,” Tutak says. The chef’s earliest influence was his mother’s cooking, which inspired him to attend culinary college in the town of Mengen before honing his skills via apprenticeships at hotels and restaurants across Turkey. Over the following years, Tutak worked his way around the kitchens of renowned restaurants — including three-Michelin-starred Nihonryori RyuGin…

SERVES: 4-6 TAKES: 1 HR 10 MINS PLUS CHILLING INGREDIENTS 1 whole chicken (around 1.5kg-1.8kg), cut into quarters1½ tbsp all-purpose seasoning or Maggi Liquid Seasoning1 tbsp garlic powder1 tbsp onion powder1 tsp black peppercorns, cracked2 tbsp neutral oil, such as vegetable or rapeseed chopped thyme and scotch bonnet pepper or charred whole spring onion, to garnish FOR THE JERK MARINADE 50g allspice25g fresh thyme85g fresh ginger3 whole scotch bonnet peppers2 medium onions, diced2 garlic bulbs8 spring onions1 tsp cloves2 tsp grated nutmeg (optional)½ tsp cinnamon3 tbsp brown sugar1 tbsp black pepper1 tbsp salt3 tbsp vegetable oil120ml dark soy sauce120ml white cane vinegar FOR THE GRAVY 1 tsp brown sugar1 tbsp soy sauce1 tbsp tomato ketchup2 sprigs fresh thyme1 tbsp cornstarch diluted in3 tbsp water METHOD Start by making the jerk…

SERVES: 4 TAKES: 30 MINS INGREDIENTS ¼ tsp turmeric powder½ tsp salt300g medium/small potatoes, peeled and quartered4 tbsp chopped parsley2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions2 tbsp lemon juice harissa (optional)4 brik pastry sheets1 can of good-quality tuna, drained grated emmental (optional)1 tbsp capers4 eggs oil, for frying lemon wedges, to serve METHOD 1 Add the turmeric, salt and potatoes to a large pan of water and boil until the potatoes are cooked. 2 Coarsely mash the potatoes, then mix in the parsley, spring onions, lemon juice, a pinch of pepper, salt to taste and the harissa, if using. 3 Place 1 sheet of brik pastry on a plate. Spoon 1 heaped tbsp of the potato mixture into the centre of the pastry, shaping it into a ring. Add a few…

With bags of history, three official languages and the headquarters of both the EU and NATO, Brussels is an eclectic city — and it has a diverse food scene to match. Classic Belgian cuisine centres on simple ingredients and hearty eating — and plenty of restaurants keep that trusted formula alive. In recent years, chefs and restaurateurs who used to flock to the likes of Ghent and Antwerp have been gravitating towards the capital. At Restaurant Aster, Túbo Logier and Ydris Gryson have created tasting menus using only local fish and vegetables cooked over fire, while Florent Ladeyn and Jordan Joubert of Klok have focused on sustainability, presenting dishes such as roasted celeriac with beurre noisette. The growing internationalisation of Brussels’ food scene means French-inspired cooking no longer dominates. A…

MAKES: 10-12 TAKES: 25 MINS INGREDIENTS 50g unsalted butter2 medium carrots, peeled and grated2-3 tbsp honey, or to taste200g twarog or ricotta2 eggs, beaten1 tbsp sugar1 scant tsp baking powder6 tbsp plain flour2 tbsp raisins, pre-soaked in 20ml rum (optional)½ lemon, zested vegetable oil, for shallow-frying icing sugar, for dusting creme fraiche, to serve METHOD 1 Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, then add the carrots and honey. Cook, stirring, for 10 mins. 2 Mix the twarog, eggs, sugar, baking powder, flour, raisins (if using), lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. 3 When the carrots are soft, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Tip the carrots into the flour mixture and stir to combine. 4 Heat enough oil…

OUR PICK MONSOON Asma Khan The third cookbook from Asma Khan — chef and owner of London restaurant Darjeeling Express — is split into six sections, one for each of the Bengali seasons: the familiar four, plus monsoon and dry season. Cooking this way is intuitive for Khan, who grew up eating seasonally in Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state. Starting with grishsho (summer), light dishes like courgette paratha give way to beef isthu (a mild beef stew) and pumpkin dal, before readers progress into the bôrsha (monsoon) and shôrot (autumn) sections. Monsoon also explores the six ayurvedic flavours — sweet, sour, bitter, tangy (astringent), spicy (pungent) and salty (umami) — and how to combine them during each of the seasons. Suggested menus incorporate an array of dishes:…

I’VE BEEN DRINKING… Cocktails at The Parlour, a cosy, Belle Époqueinspired lounge at The Zetter, Clerkenwell. The ‘Mexico City’, with Los Arcos tequila, red pepper cordial and blue corn cream, is the perfect nightcap. Farida Zeynalova, associate editor I’VE BEEN TASTING… Alcohol-free wine from French vintner Moderato, whose wines from Gascony are made using low-temperature vacuum distillation. The colombard white is slightly fruity with a dry finish. Sarah Barrell, senior editor I’D LOVE TO TRY… The Sira’s From Market to Table culinary walk in Lombok. It includes a guided tour of Tanjung Traditional Market, where you pick up ingredients for a cookery class back at the hotel. As a dumpling fanatic, I’m desperate to learn how to make hand-rolled rice dumplings. Nicola Trup, editor I’VE BEEN DINING OUT AT… Sean…

€10,000 PER KG The price (equivalent to £8,372) of the world’s priciest honey. Only 10‑15kg of Turkish Centauri Honey is harvested each year, from caves 8,200ft above sea level 2,254kg The weight of the largest honey cake ever baked, in Hyderabad, India in 2024. That’s heavier than a Volkswagen Transporter van 70 HOURS The minimum time required to qualify as a honey sommelier. Italy is the only country with an official list of honey experts: the National Register of Experts in Sensory Analysis of Honey 3,000+ years The length of time that two clay amphorae containing traces of honey lay undiscovered, among other treasures, in King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt 121,000 THE NUMBER OF MILES BEE S FLY TO M AKE J U ST 1KG OF HONE Y — EQUIVALENT…

Pick up almost any bottle of South African wine, and it’s unlikely to have been made by a winemaker of colour. But things are changing. There’s an increasing determination to improve opportunities, notably for young South Africans who want to enter the industry. Initiatives such as the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Protegé programme, which enables newly graduated winemakers from disadvantaged backgrounds to spend time working with some of the country’s leading winemakers, have benefited several award-winning youngsters. They include Kiara Scott Farmer, who was voted 2024 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year. “Back in 2020, there were only a handful in serious roles. Now there are almost double that,” says Rudger van Wyk, another young CWG alumnus who started his own wine brand, New Dawn, after a successful stint as…

THAILAND CORIANDER This grassy herb is one of the world’s most divisive, but in Thailand it’s an integral part of the cuisine. Words: Chawadee Nualkhair It’s the middle of dinner service at Bo.lan restaurant in Bangkok and our table for two is packed with all the dishes that make up a traditional Thai meal: salad, a laab of minced grey mullet that smells like nutty, toasted rice kernels; curry, a Southern-style chicken-and-prawn version made creamy with cashew nuts; a protein dish — stir-fried beef in a sauce thickened with shrimp paste; and much more besides. I take a bite of stir-fried jícama (a turnip-like root vegetable) and dried prawns, garlanded with coriander leaves — a blast of green tempered with an umami undertone. This is what fresh coriander should be:…

Smoked fish flaked into gently spiced rice, topped with egg — kedgeree is a beloved breakfast dish that’s also enjoyed for brunch, lunch and dinner around the UK. Yet its origins can be traced back to India, centuries ago. It’s derived from khichdi, a one-pot rice and lentil dish synonymous with both comfort and celebration in South Asia. The earliest written references to khichdi — whose name comes from the Sanskrit word khiccā, meaning a mixture of rice and lentils — appear in the Indian epic Mahabharata, believed to have been compiled between the third century BCE and fourth century CE. Khichdi has since spread globally, but it first captured English hearts when it made its way onto the tables of East India Company staff in their early days as…

Maria is rolling out pasta. Deft and swift, she forms millimetre-thick sheets, slicing them into ribbons that she wraps around her narrow rolling pin to shape the screw-like ssëppondapòrtë (the word for ‘door hinge pin’ in local dialect) or cuts into the roughly square-shaped takkënuèddë. Next, the remaining dough — an egg-free mix of semolina flour and 00 pasta flour — is divided and rolled into thin sausages. She cuts these into one-and two-finger-width pieces and presses them into cavatelli and orecchiette, her digits moving in a blur of speed. Maria Coppola Colucci has been working in the kitchen at this pace for two hours and the septuagenarian grandmother shows no sign of flagging. “We were in the garden first thing this morning digging up potatoes, too,” says her daughter,…

SERVES: 6 TAKES: 35 MINS INGREDIENTS 1.2kg firm white fish fillets (such as cod or barramundi)1 tsp ground turmeric3 tbsp lime juice1 ½ tbsp ginger paste1 tsp garlic paste1 tbsp ground coriander1 tsp ground cumin1 ½ tsp salt90g gram (chickpea) flour5 tbsp rice flour1 tsp chilli powder vegetable oil, for deep-frying chutney, to serve METHOD 1 Cut the fish into thick, similarly sized pieces, around 12–15cm long. Pat the pieces dry and gently massage with the turmeric. 2 Combine the lime juice, ginger paste, garlic paste, ground coriander, cumin and salt in a bowl. Add the fish pieces and coat well. Set aside to marinate for 15 mins. Discard any water that may come out of the fish. 3 Meanwhile, combine both flours with the chilli powder in a shallow…

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